Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Update on the last post: An epiphany

After I posted my last blog entry on facebook, some brief conversation followed with some friends who know me well which lead me to have an epiphany.  It isn't the cooking (or even the baking) that stresses me out about entertaining at my house, it's the CLEANING!!!!  In fact, I had written the following entry a few months ago and it was just sitting (unfinished) in my 'drafts' folder waiting for just such an occassion to be published.  I believe the original title was 'Making Peace with Futility'.

I have experienced encouters with futility thoughout my life: any/all attempts to increase my vertical jump (my 2-year-old can already jump higher than me), whittle my midsection to flatness (I am currently and incessantly rocking a diva/goddess/buddha paunch), and for the past two, almost three years, cleaning my house.


The dictionary defines futility as:


1. The quality of having no useful result; uselessness.
2. Lack of importance or purpose; frivolousness.
3. A futile act.
 
I wouldn't call any of my above three encounters frivolous (except for maybe the vertical jump), so, I guess we can render them 'useless', or as I like to think of them: POINTLESS!
 
Nap times are dwidling in my house as Chephren approaches three -- making the days when he actually does nap sacred.  I mean, this is literally the ONLY time that I get for me nowadays and I try to spend it as selfishly as possible: naps, reading, yoga, meditation... ahhh... just that string of words brings me a feeling of bliss. 
 
This past Tuesday just happened to be one of those sacred days... and I took full advantage by scrubbing my floors and toilets...

PSYCH!  (Remember when people used to say that back in the 90's?  I loved it, and I am bringing it back... just sayin'!)

Anyway, why oh why would I spend my precious 'me' time cleaning my house, only to have 'Captain Destructo' wake up from his nap and literally undo my efforts in 5 minutes flat?  Nope.  Not happening.  I would rather have a dirty house.  There I said it.  My house is mildly dirty and often messy.  If you would like to come over for dinner, I would love to cook for you, but you can for sure expect a messy house and week-old cookies for dessert (at best). 

And here, for the record, is what Chephren was up to while I was having my epiphany and writing about it on here:


I rest my case.

Marebare

4 comments:

  1. Maren, you have hit the proverbial nail upon the head with a jackhammer!! Cleaning IS one of the most unrewarding, Groundhog Day-esque endeavors to which humans (generally the female of the species) fall prey. If your friends REALLY are your friends, they won't mind the odd crumb, sticky surface or finger-printed glass. And if you get really desperate, there's always Molly Maid or the equivalent.

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  2. Um... well, I bought my house in 1995 with all sorts of grandiose plans about the parties and jam sessions I would host. Fast forward 16 years, and I believe I can count on one hand the people outside of my immediate family who have set foot inside my messy abode. I try, really I do, but I just don't seem to be able to keep it more than a notch or two above horrific. Plus, really, truly... is there any way to make avocado green shag look presentable? I keep telling myself THIS will be the year that I finally yank it out and refinish the oak floors underneath. Sigh.

    You're probably too young to remember this, but in the '70's there was a very popular children's recording called "Free to be You and Me." It was a collection of songs & stories for kids with a feel good seventies vibe. Anyhow, there was one poem on the record about housework, and it's stuck with me all these years. Here's a YouTube link... no clue what the Harry Potter pictures have to do with anything... but it's the same poem.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_qgVj_M_iE

    "Your mommy hates housework, your Daddy hates housework, I hate housework too... and when you grow up, so will you!" Truer words were never spoken...

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  3. p.s. - Why do agents of destruction always have such an angelic look about them? I can't count the number of times I have come upon an incredible mess with an adorable guilty fe-lion perched in the middle of it.

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  4. @Colleen: I LOVE the Groundhog day analogy! It is scarily accurate!

    @ECL: My parents are both teachers so I vividly remember the 'Free to be you and me' stuff - talk about nostalgia!

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